Watching Egypt on TV makes me cry.
Read on and tell me: Does it all sound familiar?
![Mubarak speaks on national TV]()
From Wikipedia:
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak (Arabic: محمد حسني سيد مبارك Muḥammad Ḥusnī Sayyid Mubārak; born 4 May 1928) is the fourth and current President of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
He was appointed Vice President in 1975, and assumed the Presidency on 14 October 1981, following the assassination of President Anwar El-Sadat.
He is the longest serving President of Egypt, his term now counting 29 years.
According to the BBC, Mubarak has survived six assassination attempts.
President Mubarak has been re-elected by majority votes in a referendum for successive terms on four occasions: in 1987, 1993, 1999.
After increased domestic and international pressure for democratic reform in Egypt, Mubarak asked the largely rubber stamp parliament on 26 February 2005 to amend the constitution to allow multi-candidate presidential elections by September 2005.
Mubarak secured his position by having himself nominated by parliament, then confirmed without opposition in a referendum.
On 28 July 2005, Mubarak announced his candidacy, as he had been widely expected to do. The election which was scheduled for 7 September 2005 involved mass rigging activities, according to civil organizations that observed the elections.
Reports have shown that Mubarak's party used government vehicles to take public employees to vote for him. Votes were bought for Mubarak in poor suburbs and rural areas. It was also reported that thousands of illegal votes were allowed for Mubarak from citizens who were not registered to vote.
On 8 September 2005, Ayman Nour, a dissident and candidate for the Al-Ghad party ("Tomorrow party"), contested the election results, and demanded a repeat of the election.
In a move widely seen as political persecution, Nour was convicted of forgery and sentenced to five years at hard labor on 24 December 2005.
While in office, political corruption in the Mubarak administration's Ministry of Interior has risen dramatically, due to the increased power over the institutional system that is necessary to secure the prolonged presidency.
Such corruption has led to the imprisonment of political figures and young activists without trials, illegal undocumented hidden detention facilities, and rejecting universities, mosques, newspapers staff members based on political inclination. On a personnel level, each individual officer can and will violate citizens' privacy in his area using unconditioned arrests due to the emergency law.
Read on and tell me: Does it all sound familiar?
From Wikipedia:
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak (Arabic: محمد حسني سيد مبارك Muḥammad Ḥusnī Sayyid Mubārak; born 4 May 1928) is the fourth and current President of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
He was appointed Vice President in 1975, and assumed the Presidency on 14 October 1981, following the assassination of President Anwar El-Sadat.
He is the longest serving President of Egypt, his term now counting 29 years.
According to the BBC, Mubarak has survived six assassination attempts.
President Mubarak has been re-elected by majority votes in a referendum for successive terms on four occasions: in 1987, 1993, 1999.
After increased domestic and international pressure for democratic reform in Egypt, Mubarak asked the largely rubber stamp parliament on 26 February 2005 to amend the constitution to allow multi-candidate presidential elections by September 2005.
Mubarak secured his position by having himself nominated by parliament, then confirmed without opposition in a referendum.
On 28 July 2005, Mubarak announced his candidacy, as he had been widely expected to do. The election which was scheduled for 7 September 2005 involved mass rigging activities, according to civil organizations that observed the elections.
Reports have shown that Mubarak's party used government vehicles to take public employees to vote for him. Votes were bought for Mubarak in poor suburbs and rural areas. It was also reported that thousands of illegal votes were allowed for Mubarak from citizens who were not registered to vote.
On 8 September 2005, Ayman Nour, a dissident and candidate for the Al-Ghad party ("Tomorrow party"), contested the election results, and demanded a repeat of the election.
In a move widely seen as political persecution, Nour was convicted of forgery and sentenced to five years at hard labor on 24 December 2005.
While in office, political corruption in the Mubarak administration's Ministry of Interior has risen dramatically, due to the increased power over the institutional system that is necessary to secure the prolonged presidency.
Such corruption has led to the imprisonment of political figures and young activists without trials, illegal undocumented hidden detention facilities, and rejecting universities, mosques, newspapers staff members based on political inclination. On a personnel level, each individual officer can and will violate citizens' privacy in his area using unconditioned arrests due to the emergency law.